EMERYVILLE, CA--(Marketwired - August 16, 2016) - Today, Project Greenlight Digital Studios (PGLDS) and Peet's Coffee® announced their partnership on Ode to Coffee First, a first-of-its-kind video contest by PGLDS that will showcase the role coffee plays in our daily lives. The partnership will provide a distinctive platform for Peet's to celebrate National Coffee Day on September 29, while also leveraging this holiday to announce the top video submissions for public voting.

"Project Greenlight Digital Studios has a fantastic reputation for delivering quality content and their commitment to supporting an up-and-coming generation of filmmakers aligns with many values we have at Peet's, particularly those of craft and mentorship," said Dave Burwick, Peet's Coffee CEO. "When approaching National Coffee Day for 2016, we knew they were the perfect partner for supporting the launch and celebration of an 'Ode to Coffee First.'"

Ode to Coffee First

As the innovator of the craft coffee movement, Peet's has put Coffee First™ for fifty years by sourcing the world's best beans, hand-roasting them in small batches, and creating delicious handcrafted beverages. PGLDS and Peet's are looking for emerging filmmakers to create an entertaining and innovative video expressing what Coffee First™ means to them and how they celebrate their love for coffee in their daily life.

The contest will accept submissions of 30-second Ode to Coffee First videos from August 31 to September 16 on projectgreenlight.com. The submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges chosen by both companies and narrowed down to a pool of 10 finalists. The selection will be based on originality, cinematography, craftsmanship, authenticity, virality, directing, and story.

The top 10 finalists will be announced on National Coffee Day on September 29, 2016, which kick starts a window of public voting that will run until October 6. The one entry with the most votes will be deemed the winner. The winner will be announced on October 12 and will receive a grand prize of $10,000 USD, in addition to a year's supply of Peet's Coffee.

The contest is open to all permanent legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia, who are eighteen (18) years of age and older as of August 31, 2016. Full contest details can be found at http://www.projectgreenlight.com/peets.

First-of-its-Kind Contest by Project Greenlight

PGLDS was created to be a story-driven creative community and content producer that empowers the next generation of great filmmakers by providing emerging talent with access to high-value Hollywood relationships, creator contests, representation, and multi-platform distribution opportunities. Launched last year by Adaptive Studios alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, their fellow executive producers on the Project Greenlight TV show, PGLDS is quickly becoming a powerful engine to curate premium digital content.

PGLDS has previously collaborated with filmmakers, book authors, and musicians, but this will be their first time expanding their platform into the culinary world.

"We're happy to align with Peet's Coffee who continue to break boundaries in their industry. As they strive to provide top quality products to their customers, we continue to explore new content and create innovative opportunities for the filmmaker community," said Brittany Turner, VP of Digital at Adaptive Studios."

About Adaptive Studios:

Adaptive Studios is a pioneering media studio focused on the acquisition and development of intellectual property across all platforms. Sourcing material through partners including studios, talent agencies, management companies and production houses, as well as in-house, Adaptive creates and produces film, television, digital entertainment, books and graphic novels -- focusing on whichever platform best fits the story. Adaptive produced the highly acclaimed, Emmy® nominated Project Greenlight for HBO and alongside the show's executive producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck launched Project Greenlight Digital Studios last year. Through PGLDS, they are actively "greenlighting" an expanding slate of new digital series with emerging filmmakers. Adaptive recently wrapped production on COIN HEIST which marked the first successful conversion from script to novel to feature film for the studio. They also recently revealed plans to bring their latest novel, DC TRIP, to the big screen alongside Van Toffler's new studio, Gunpowder & Sky, and with Bona Fide Productions. Adaptive Books, the publishing imprint of Adaptive Studios, has released 11 titles to date and will publish an average of 10 books and graphic novels annually. For more information visit www.adaptivestudios.com.

About Peet's Coffee:

Peet's Coffee® is a U.S. specialty coffee company founded by Alfred Peet in 1966 in Berkeley, California. Mr. Peet grew up in the coffee trade and moved to America from Holland after World War II. His coffee style was unlike anything Americans had ever tasted before -- small batches, fresh beans and a superior quality roast that is rich and complex. Mr. Peet's influence on the artisan coffee movement inspired a new generation of coffee entrepreneurs, including the founders of Starbucks. Today, Peet's upholds its commitment to delivering a premium product by continuing to source the world's best beans, hand-roast in small batches, and craft every beverage by hand. Peet's asserts a strict standard of freshness to ensure optimum flavor, including a unique direct store delivery network serving over 14,000 grocery stores to personally vet the freshness date on every bag. Peet's is dedicated to growing its business through its retail, grocery and e-commerce channels while maintaining the superior quality of its coffee. Peet's is also proud of its status as the first LEED® Gold certified roastery in the United States. For more information, visit www.peets.com. Stay connected to Peet's: @peetscoffee on Twitter and Instagram and facebook.com/peets.